What’s the Difference Between Easter and Orthodox Easter?

The religious holiday of Easter celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ, as described in the Bible’s New Testament. Although it is observed as the holiest day by both Orthodox Christians and non-orthodox Christians, it is a movable feast and is recognized on different days by both religions most years. Orthodox Christians celebrate Easter later than most Christians in the western world because the churches calculate the holiday by different calendars.

According to the Bible’s New Testament, Jesus was crucified by the Romans around A.D. 30, died on the cross on a Friday and was buried in a tomb outside of Jerusalem. Three days later, on Sunday, Christ rose from the dead, according to Matthew 28:1–10.

Non-Orthodox Christians celebrate the resurrection each year on Easter Sunday, the culmination of the 40-day season of Lent. Lent begins on Ash Wednesday and ends with Holy Week, which includes Palm Sunday, commemorating Jesus’ humble entry into Jerusalem; Maundy Thursday, honoring the Last Supper; Good Friday, the day Jesus was crucified; and Holy Saturday, the time of transition between the crucifixion and resurrection.

Known as Pascha, the Greek word for “passover,” Easter in the Orthodox Church celebrates “the eternal Passover from death to life from earth to heaven.” Great Lent, the church’s strictest time of fasting, takes place for 40 days, ending eight days before Easter on Lazarus Saturday—when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, according to Eastern Orthodoxy. Palm Sunday and Holy Week follow, with continued fasting until Easter. Orthodox Easter always follows the Jewish holiday of Passover.

Many historians, citing eighth-century monk and Anglo-Saxon scholar the Venerable Bede in his “The Reckoning of Time,” believe Easter’s etymological name comes from Eostre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring and fertility, who was often portrayed in drawings surrounded by hares and was believed to be worshiped during pagan festivals. Anglo-Saxons also reportedly referred to the month of April as Eostre-monath.

The date of Easter is determined by the spring equinox and the full moon. In A.D. 325, the Council of Nicaea resolved a controversy among early Christians over Easter’s date by deciding Easter should be held on the first Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox. Both western and Eastern Orthodox Christians continue to follow this same formula today.

In the fourth century, all Christians were following the Julian calendar. The calendar, which Julius Caesar established in 45 B.C., is based on the solar cycle, or Earth’s revolutions around the sun. Even after the western and Orthodox churches split in 1054, Christians around the world continued to observe Easter on the same date.

Then, in 1582, Pope Gregory XIII instituted the Gregorian calendar to correct inaccuracies in the Julian Calendar. The new calendar added leap years to correct an 11-minute miscalculation that caused seasons to become out of sync with the Julian calendar, thus pushing Easter away from the spring equinox. However, only the western churches aligned with the Pope made the switch.

Even as most of the secular world has officially recognized the Gregorian calendar, Orthodox churches, primarily in Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Romania and Bulgaria, remain on the Julian calendar. This is also the case for the Orthodox Church in America. The two calendars result in two different Easter Sunday celebrations most years.

In 2026, Catholics and other Christians in the western church will observe Easter on Sunday, April 5. Meanwhile, Eastern Orthodox Christians will celebrate the holiday one week later, as Orthodox Easter occurs on Sunday, April 12, 2026.

As with many Christian holidays, some Easter traditions can be traced to pagan celebrations. Decorating eggs, which symbolize new life, dates back to the 13th century when the church forbid eating eggs during Holy Week, and they were decorated instead. The Easter Bunny, meanwhile, is believed to have been brought to the United States by German immigrants in the 1700s, though some historians trace the character to rabbits being symbolic of fertility.

Both Orthodox Christians and non-Orthodox Christians celebrate the Easter holiday with joyous church services, often punctuated with white lilies, followed by family meals and gatherings. Eastern Orthodox churches often hold a Paschal Vigil on Holy Saturday, the day before Easter, and a candlelight procession may be held that night, with Easter services and celebrations beginning at midnight.

Easter meals among western Christians often include ham, spring vegetables and hot-cross buns (sweet rolls scored with a cross on top). At Orthodox Christian Easter dinners, along with red-dyed hard-boiled eggs, which are symbolic of the blood of Christ, lamb is typically served. John 1:29 says, “Behold the lamb of God which takes away the sins of the world.” Lamb also has a strong Jewish significance, as it was used as a sacrifice and is often served during Passover. According to the Bible, Jesus transformed a Passover feast into the Last Supper just before his crucifixion.